Ramaswamy urges Haley and DeSantis to withdraw and back Trump

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is urging GOP candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis to withdraw from the 2024 race and throw their support behind former President Donald Trump, who secured a landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night.

Ramaswamy suspended his White House bid after coming fourth in Iowa.

“I think Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley would actually, at this point, do this country and this party a service by stepping aside to make sure that we’re focused on not only nominating Donald Trump but getting this country back and reviving those founding revolutionary ideals,” Ramaswamy told Fox News anchor Jesse Watters on Tuesday.

Watters asked Ramaswamy if he was calling on Haley and DeSantis to exit the race.

“I am, and I do think that would be healthy for this country,” said Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur.

Neither DeSantis nor Haley has signaled plans to drop out after coming in second and third, respectively, in Iowa.

Since dropping out, Ramaswamy has officially endorsed Trump and is reportedly campaigning for his former rival.

Ramaswamy previously expressed support for Trump while they were pitted against each other on the campaign trail and, at one point, urged the other GOP primary candidates to pledge that they would pardon the former president if he is convicted on federal charges of mishandling classified documents.

While Trump won Iowa by 51% of the vote, Ramaswamy received single-digit support that culminated in a disappointing fourth-place finish.

DeSantis came in with 21% support; Haley garnered 19%.

Several political pundits pointed to Trump’s resounding victory in Iowa when urging Haley and DeSantis to bow out, including Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, who described Trump as “simply too powerful” and said DeSantis has little to “gain” from continuing his campaign.

In a piece published Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal editorial board also called on DeSantis to drop out and let Haley square off against Trump.

New Hampshire-based strategist Mike Dennehy suggested Tuesday that DeSantis is a “dead man walking right now.”

“He cannot make an argument that he’s in a stronger position because he lost to Donald Trump by 30 points,” Dennehy told The Hill. “He can say that his ticket was punched out of Iowa, but it’s a bus ticket going to Antarctica. I mean, it’s not — his campaign is going nowhere.”